Struggling to gain weight in late pregnancy …

But lately I’ve been really struggling to keep my weight up. Never mind gaining; I seem to be running a treadmill just to keep my weight where it is. It’s very strange.

I’ve gained 26 pounds so far, which is a touch on the low side for over 35 weeks pregnant though certainly not shocking. I haven’t gained weight anywhere except my belly — I look like I swallowed a basketball and that’s it. My boobs are maybe a little bit bigger, but certainly nothing shocking or noticeable unless you’re me/my husband. No fat in the face or fat in the ass or anything — I’m all baby.

For the past two weeks I really haven’t gained anything, though. I eat whenever I feel the slightest bit hungry, even if it’s the middle of the night (I keep a huge bag of fruit snacks next to my bed). I still feel totally energetic — not tired or lethargic like I’d expect to be if I were calorie-deficient. I still do light workouts five days a week, like I’ve been doing for months now. I am finally JUST starting to slow down a little on the weight lifting and the speed/incline when walking on the treadmill. Of course I’m listening to my body and not pushing it beyond what feels comfortable.

I have a doc appointment on Friday and I’ll definitely ask the doctor about the weight situation, but meanwhile I just want to hear from some people who have maybe gone through the same thing as me. Should I be worried? Should I be buying Ensure for weight gain or switching from skim milk to whole milk or basically just eating garbage food in an attempt to slap some more weight on these bones? Or is the fact that both baby and I are plenty energetic a sign that I have nothing to worry about? I feel like I’m constantly eating and yet every time I hop on that scale, it says the same thing as it said the day before and the day before and the week before and the two weeks before. Harrumph.

As long as you are eating healthy, taking your vitamin, and have a generally healthy lifestyle you hsould be ok. Your doctor might be concerned about the baby growing appropriately, but that wouldn’t be changed by you drinking supplements (obviusly in addition to your meals). I only gained 20 lbs with my two oldest girls and we were all healthy. I would worry too much about where your weight as long as your are healthy and feeling good:)

@iarebridezilla: It’s normal for your appetite to go down a little in those last few weeks since the baby is bigger and there isn’t as much room for your stomach. That totally didn’t happen to me AT ALL but that’s neither here nor there…

Definitely ask about it, but in all probability you and behbeh are doing fine 🙂

Can I have your metabolism?! Haha! I would not be worried at all, weight gain does tend to slow down for a lot of people at the end and you have already gained the “recommended” amount for healthy-sized women pre-pregnancy, so I would say you are right on track!

If you want some of the 44 pounds I have gained so far, I will gladly send them over your way! 😉

Oh, and I knew a girl who I could have sworn was pregorexic because of how tiny she was when she was full-term. She popped out an 8 pound something baby boy, so weight gain & baby size are definitely not a hard and fast thing. One thing I have definitely seen from following an OB for a few weeks is that alllllll women are so different in pregnancy, different sizes, different weights, etc. And guess what? Almost all of them, regardless of size, end up with a healthy baby at the end 🙂

Then again, if I had an excuse to eat some extra ice cream, I’d jump all over that! Oh who am I kidding, I already do (hence the 44 pounds, maybe?). I wouldn’t worry a bit about your weight gain, it sounds like you are doing a great job to me 🙂

I’m due a few months behind you with my first, so can’t say from experience but can share something my doctor told me. At 23 weeks I’ve gained 19lbs, with the first 15lbs gained in the first 15 weeks. I was really worried with the rapid weight gain and my Dr. assured me that every woman can gain differently, and it is not super uncommon for some woman to gain a lot at first and not much at the end, especially if you were smaller to begin with. So, as long as your Dr. isn’t worried and you are eating when you’re hungry (getting your correct caloric intake), I’d actually say you’re a lucky one! I know quite a few people who gained under 25lbs total during their pregnancies and everything was perfect. I also know someone who didn’t gain anything for 2 weeks during her last month and then gained 6lbs the last week before she gave birth.

@DaneLady: my appetite is definitely starting to struggle a little — the other day I arrived at my parents’ cabin and announced that I was hungry, and then spent the next 15 minutes standing in front of the pantry, then the fridge, then the pantry, then the fridge … none of the million possible food options sounded good! But I always force myself to eat when I’m hungry, even if nothing sounds good. Haha cheese-on-bread is always easy enough to choke down!

@MadTownGirl: I was definitely gaining really steadily all through the middle of the pregnancy so I think I should be good. But at my last doctor visit (I’m still going only every four weeks!! crazy military hospitals) she was a little concerned about my weight as it seemed on the light side. which I attribute mostly to the time of day — I hadn’t eaten lunch yet and was friggin starving. So now I’m like, shit, I’m totally gonna get in trouble on Friday. I told DH I was going to chug a whole bunch of water right before the appointment to trick the scale so I don’t get yelled at … needless to say, he was not very supportive of my plan

A few extra bites of ice cream here and there certainly can’t hurt at this point, though

@iarebridezilla: I always thought that 30 pounds was considered healthy to gain for a pregnancy. Obviously I’m no doctor, but it sounds like you’re on track to me. It sure beats gaining 90 pounds and using pregnancy as an excuse to be a pig.

My guess? It has a lot to do with how healthy and athletic you are. People like you tend to gain less weight whereas people who started off fat are more likely to gain more weight. That’s completely unscientific, but I feel I’m right 😛

@iarebridezilla: I’m in the exact same boat as you. I’m 36 weeks on Thursday. Up 20 lbs. Gained 80% of that in my 2nd trimester. Look like I swallowed a basketball, and did not gain any weight between my last appointments (33-35 weeks).

At my last Dr appointment, she made a comment along the lines of “When I first saw you today, I was afraid that you were going to be measuring small, but your fundal height is right on track and baby sounds great. You’re just carrying really cute.” I was thrilled!

Dr said this is 100%, completely, totally normal. Baby is bigger and there’s not a ton of stomach space left. It’s also taking a lot more of your nutrients because it needs more to survive now than when it weighed 2 lbs.

Count yourself lucky (I do everyday). As long as the baby isn’t measuring small, you’re all good!

I’m built pretty much the same as you (5’3″ and 110lbs pre-preg). I’m 33 weeks and up 20lbs today. My midwife said that’s totally fine and that as long as my fundal height is good a few pounds doesn’t mean anything.

@MrsPanda99: haha! I think you may be right in your unscientific analysis. My sister and I were comparing pregnancy pictures this weekend and even though we both didn’t mention it, it was VERY obvious that by the end of her pregnancy, her face and ass had both doubled in size. I’m definitely lucky my body didn’t try and pull any of that shit.

@ExcitedScaredBee: I’m also a little worried because at my 34 week appt I was measuring 32 … but once again, I was STAR-VING at that appointment and I’m very tall, so with my stomach empty and out of the way, my uterus could totally sink way down into me before she measured it!! I’m definitely going to stuff myself with my usual morning array of meals and snacks before Friday’s appt. Because I know in my heart that baby and I are totally healthy and doing great, so I don’t want them to think otherwise and make me come back for a bunch of annoying tests. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

@bunnymama: I’m 5’9 — a tall drink of water, to be sure, and I was 145 to start and 171 now. So as a % of my total body weight, I really haven’t gained that much … but this whole thread has helped reassure me that I’m fine 🙂 That damn baby is probably cannibalizing my super awesome toned muscles. Ugh, so selfish! I worked hard on those!

Right now I’ve gained 15 pounds and I’m 30 weeks (first baby). I go to the midwife tomorrow, so I can report back what she’s said tomorrow, but they’re not worried about it right now. To me, I was 10 pounds overweight when I started at 5’4″ / 138 so I’m fine with my weight gain if the nurse-midwife says it’s ok. They suggested I gain between 25-35 pounds. I have 10 weeks left… so if I gain a pound a week I should be ok. It’s so strange to WANT to gain a pound a week. I’ve just been trying to eat well, get enough protein and take my vitamin. Good luck!

@iarebridezilla: My friends were told that 24-30 lbs are ideal to gain through the entire process and they were told that gaining too much is likely much worse than gaining not much. I think you’re perfectly fine!